combat. Prehistoric remains in the area include
cave paintings in , in Morella la Vella, famous for the oldest known depiction of
archery combat. The ancient Greeks established a treasury at Morella, but then the area became the scene of conflict between the
Carthaginians and the Roman Empire during the
Punic Wars. Eventually the town was Romanized and became part of the province of
Tarragona.
The Visigoths populated the city in two different epochs, there are ruins of a Visigoth village in the site of Mas Sabater-Cantera de la Parreta de Morella. There are the remains of a building from the 7th century A.D., which according to the archaeologists could have been twelve meters high and maybe it was a noble building or maybe of religious use according to Ramiro Pérez, one of the directors of the excavation. The
Moors took the town in 714, naming it
Maurela. of Morella (1233).
El Cid is reputed to have rebuilt the castle which dominates the town and in 1084 he is supposed to have fought in the service of
Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud and defeated
Sancho Ramírez of Aragon at the
Battle of Morella. In 1117, Sancho captured Morella, but it was recaptured by the Moors and only finally subdued by Blasco de Alagon in 1232. Following Blasco's death in 1239,
James I of Aragon established a royal garrison in the city and awarded the inhabitants the title of "Faithful". In the 1960s and 70s many people left the town for work opportunities in the cities and many of the local small industries died, but a slow revitalization has taken place since the
transition of Spain to democracy. ==Sexenni==